From teachers’ implicit theories of intelligence to job stress: The mediating role of teachers’ causal attribution of students’ academic achievement

To better understand the cognitive antecedents of teachers’ stress in the school setting, the effects of teachers’ beliefs regarding intelligence and their causal attributions of students’ academic performance on teachers’ job stress were examined in the current study. We recruited 271 teachers who voluntarily filled out an anonymous questionnaire. Findings demonstrated that teachers who endorsed the entity theory of intelligence tended to attribute students’ poor performance to students’ inability but not lack of effort. Results showed a positive relationship between teachers’ fixed view of intelligence and job stress, and this relationship was mediated by teachers’ attributing students’ poor performance to students’ lack of ability, even after controlling for teacher efficacy. We suggest to promote the psychological health of teachers by incorporating intelligence mindset and attribution training programs in preservice teacher education, professional development, and cognitive behavioral stress intervention for in-service teachers.     

Neural Correlates of Biased Responses: The Negative Method Effect in the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale Is Associated with Right Amygdala Volume

Self‐esteem is a widely studied construct in psychology that is typically measured by the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale (RSES). However, a series of cross‐sectional and longitudinal studies have suggested that a simple and widely used unidimensional factor model does not provide an adequate explanation of RSES responses due to method effects. To identify the neural correlates of the method effect, we sought to determine whether and how method effects were associated with the RSES and investigate the neural basis of these effects. Two hundred and eighty Chinese college students (130 males; mean age = 22.64 years) completed the RSES and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Behaviorally, method effects were linked to both positively and negatively worded items in the RSES. Neurally, the right amygdala volume negatively correlated with the negative method factor, while the hippocampal volume positively correlated with the general self‐esteem factor in the RSES. The neural dissociation between the general self‐esteem factor and negative method factor suggests that there are different neural mechanisms underlying them. The amygdala is involved in modulating negative affectivity; therefore, the current study sheds light on the nature of method effects that are related to self‐report with a mix of positively and negatively worded items.     

Positive and Negative Affect in Loss Aversion: Additive or Subtractive Logic?

Previous studies explain loss aversion as the result of a situation in which the expected negative emotions derived from a potential loss exceed the expected positive emotions derived from a potential gain (subtractive logic). We questioned this view and proposed additive logic, in which a linear combination between negative and positive emotions can be used as summed anticipatory affect intensity (SAAI) to explain loss aversion. By disproving two implicit hypotheses of subtractive logic, Study 1 showed that the additive logic of expected positive and negative affect was more effective than the subtractive logic in predicting loss aversion. Study 2 used real monetary gains and losses to verify the conclusion in Study 1. Using state‐trait theory to comprehensively consider the state and trait aspects of affect intensity, we further deduced that the immediate expected affect intensity might originate from the difference of an individual trait in affect intensity. Study 3 proved this hypothesis and showed that SAAI plays an intermediary role between affect intensity and loss aversion. Furthermore, Study 4 used real gamblers in casinos in Macau as its sample and obtained the same conclusion regarding loss aversion in real life as was found in the laboratory. Finally, we explained the effect of SAAI on loss aversion and indicated the contribution and significance of this study. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Different Brain Wave Patterns and Cortical Control Abilities in Relation to Different Creative Potentials

Contemporary understanding of brain functions provides a way to probe into the mystery of creativity. However, the prior evidence regarding the relationship between creativity and brain wave patterns reveals inconsistent conclusions. One possible reason might be that the means of selecting creative individuals in the past has varied in each study. By distinguishing creative potential as open-ended versus closed-ended based on theoretical views, this study examined different brain wave patterns and cortical control abilities in relation to different creative potentials by using electroencephalogram (EEG) biofeedback equipment. The results demonstrated that participants’ performance on the open-ended creative problem was positively related to EEG alpha frequencies, whereas performance on the closed-ended creative problem was related to larger variability in EEG dynamics between alpha and beta waves when performing either open-ended or closed-ended creativity tasks. Further, better control in changing states of brain wave activities according to the EEG biofeedback signals could predict closed-ended creativity performance. Open-ended creativity was related only to the enhancement of alpha signals. These results help clarify previous inconsistent findings, reveal different natures of distinct creativities, and further suggest ways to improve different aspects of creativity with modified biofeedback procedures.     

The relationship between autonomous motivation and goal pursuit: A cross‐cultural perspective

People pursue their goals for different reasons, and previous research has distinguished two types of autonomous reason: relationally autonomous reasons (RARs) and personally autonomous reasons (PARs). The present study examines how RARs and PARs predict goal performance and well‐being differently for people in individualistic and collectivistic cultures. Participants included 250 American and 246 Chinese undergraduate students. They listed two of the most important goals they were currently pursuing, and completed survey measures to assess their RARs, PARs, goal effort and progress, and personal and collective self‐esteem. The moderating effect of culture on how RARs and PARs influence goal outcomes was tested through structural equation modelling analyses, so that both RARs and PARs could be incorporated into the analyses. The results indicate cultural differences in the degree to which PARs and RARs relate to goal performance and well‐being. Implications regarding the role of autonomy in different cultures are discussed.     

A Longitudinal Study of Cultural Adaptation among Mexican and Dominican Immigrant Women

The present longitudinal study examined cultural adaptation (i.e., acculturation and enculturation) and its correlates in a sample of 189 Mexican and Dominican immigrant women. Acculturation and enculturation were measured within the domains of language competence, identity, and cultural knowledge at two time points over a 1-year period. Across groups and domains, cultural adaptation was generally stable over time; only American cultural knowledge showed change and only for MA women. Several correlates of cultural adaptation were identified. For Mexican women, living in poverty and in immigrant-dense neighborhoods was associated with lower acculturation. For Dominican women, age at immigration was the most robust correlate and was associated with more acculturation and less enculturation, though poverty and neighborhood characteristics emerged as significant for Dominican women too. Findings are consistent with the notion of cultural adaptation as a complex construct that is influenced by cultural context as well as individual immigrant characteristics.     

2~5岁儿童愿望理解能力的发展

愿望理解是儿童心理理论的重要组成部分.研究选取2~5岁的儿童79名,使用简单愿望推理任务、愿望形成理解任务、冲突愿望理解任务、对自己过去愿望理解任务以及对他人愿望理解任务,系统地探讨愿望理解的层次性.实验结果表明,儿童在对自己过去愿望理解任务中的成绩比简单愿望推理、愿望形成理解和冲突愿望理解中的成绩要好,在冲突愿望理解任务中的成绩比对他人愿望理解的任务要差.说明儿童的愿望理解能力包含着多个方面,其发展步调并不一致,具有一定的顺序性.     

建立有中国特色的卒中单元

卒中单元是一种医疗管理模式,它将治疗脑卒中的有效手段集中在一起,让病人在有效治疗时间窗内的到他所需要的最佳治疗,尽可能地使卒中病人恢复神经功能,恢复自我,回归社会.但我国的卒中单元还存在许多问题,需共同努力建立有中国特色的卒中单元.     

宏观视域中的全球化--全球化若干重要问题研究评述

毫无疑问,全球化已经成为当今最重要的焦点性话题之一,它在许多学科的争论中,都已成为出现频率最高的核心话语之一.正如,英国社会学家安东尼·吉登斯所说:"仅仅在十年以前,不论是学术著作还是通俗读物都很少使用这个术语.而现在,这一术语已经从无人使用变为无所不在;如果不提到它,任何政治演说都是不完整的,任何商业手册都是不受欢迎的."①然而,当我们真正面对全球化这一问题时,却感到有些茫然.大量有关全球化的论著既缺少清晰的分析方法,又缺乏系统的理论建构和严密的逻辑推导,更没有提供一种前后一致、令人信服的历史解释,所以使人很难准确把握全球化的内在本质之意.出现这种状况一方面说明全球化本身拥有极其复杂的内容,其进程尚未完结;另一方面则与研究者所选择的视域有关,许多学者是从不同的学科、不同的角度来考察全球化的,结果赋予了它不同的、甚至是相互矛盾的意义并由此引起许多争论.看来,对全球化研究的某些重要问题进行宏观性整体审视,这对真正地理解全球化的基本精神或许不是多余的.